


Replacement

by klioud



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Introspection, Mentioned Annette Fantine Dominic's Uncle - Freeform, Mentioned Gilbert | Gustave (Fire Emblem) - Freeform, Not Specific to Any Particular Route, Spoilers for Annette-Hanneman Supports, epilogue compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22186489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klioud/pseuds/klioud
Summary: Non-Route Specific. Post-Game. Epilogue.Annette does not think of Hanneman as a replacement for her father or her uncle.Praise felt like a shawl upon her shoulders: warm and non-restrictive. It made Annette wonder if that was what it should have felt like to have a father.Written for Those Who Drabble in the Dark: Prompt 2 - Platonic Epilogue.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Hanneman von Essar
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31
Collections: Those Who Drabble in the Dark





	Replacement

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Those Who Drabble in the Dark: Prompt 2 - Platonic Epilogue.
> 
> 200 - 500 Word Limit.

Professor Hanneman is neither a replacement for her father nor uncle.

The suggestion first occurred to Annette when she still wore the black and gold of the Officer's Academy. Her apology had fumbled in her mouth in the place of her foot: it had seemed disrespectful to equate a person of Professor Hanneman's prestige to someone as scatterbrained as herself.

Only, Professor Hanneman had not disapproved.

Annette left the library then with an itch in her palms and a promise to call on him whenever dusty bookshelves presented themselves just outside her reach. In the days thereafter, Professor Hanneman would offer her more than a word of advice: he would offer his admiration. That itch saw to it that the library was cleaned from top to bottom and her coursework completed just as thoroughly.

Praise felt like a shawl upon her shoulders: warm and non-restrictive. It made Annette wonder if that was what it should have felt like to have a father.

Now the idea comes to Annette again after she lands unceremoniously against the cafeteria's unswept floor. The long strap of her book bag is tangled around her leg and the tassels of a table runner. Around her, the students of Fhirdiad's school of sorcery stifle their giggles. Her renown as a sorceress has at least bought her that much. 

“Are you alright, Professor Annette?” Professor Hanneman asks. Annette's response is automatic.

“I'm fine. Sorry!” 

Her fingers are as automated as her mouth: they work to disentangle the strap without her paying much attention. Meanwhile, Professor Hanneman stoops to collect the books that tumbled out of her bag.

“If you are not hurt, then no harm's been done.” The expression Professor Hanneman wears as he dusts off a book's cover is as still as a basin of water. A small part of her does not want to peer any deeper into it. “Best not to leap so suddenly from your seat as that in the future.” Annette thinks he smiles. “That said, I understand your enthusiasm. I myself can hardly stand the wait.”

He _is_ smiling. Boyishly, at that. When his eyes meet her own, she cannot help but smile back. 

Her palms itch.

“I'm so ready for the results!” Annette says. 

Even after all these years, something tiny inside her had anticipated his disappointment. Had her uncle been the one to witness her fall, he would have let out a sigh heavier than her entire book bag. Her father would have swallowed any criticism and let them both suffocate in the silence. 

Tucking the books under his arm, Professor Hanneman offers her his other hand.

Professor Hanneman is not their replacement. He has never insinuated that she was not worthy of her Crest as her uncle had. Has never left her behind as her father had. Their shoes are too small and ill-fitting for him to fill.

He was not just a mentor. He is not just a colleague.

Professor Hanneman is her friend.

Annette takes his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think that Hanneman, once Annette became recognised as a professor, called her "Professor Dominic". However, after years spent as his assistant and close friend, Annette preferred he continue to call her by her first name (with the well-earned prefix of "Professor", of course).
> 
> Thank you for your time!


End file.
